Robotic Playmates

When young children play, they often manipulate toys that have been
specifically designed to accommodate and stimulate their perceptual-motor
skills. Robotic playmates capable of physically manipulating toys have
the potential to engage children in therapeutic play and augment the
beneficial interactions provided by overtaxed care givers and costly
therapists. To date, assistive robots for children have almost
exclusively focused on social interactions and teleoperative control.
This project represents progress towards the creation of robots that can
engage children in manipulative play.